To paraphrase Douglas MacArthur, former Gaelic Storm fiddlers don’t fade away – sometimes they form bands together.

That’s the concept behind The Bow Tides, which features the fiddle trio of Ellery Klein, Jessie Burns and Katie Grennan, all of whom were members (though never at the same time) of widely popular Celtic folk-rock group Gaelic Storm: As Klein puts it, they represent a combined 16 years of fiddling for the band.

Offering a repertoire that includes traditional tunes and songs from Irish, Scottish, and Galician traditions, among others, as well as original compositions, The Bow Tides – whose other members are guitarist/singer Jeff Lindblade and double bassist Eric Thorin (who is married to Burns) – will make its New England debut on July 26 at 4 p.m. as part of The Burren’s Brian O’Donovan Legacy Series. For tickets, go to tickets.24hourmusic.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=1828

It’s an event Boston-area resident Klein has been looking forward to for a long time – ever since the three collaborated on a series of music videos in 2020, which led to their (virtual) debut at the Spanish Peaks International Celtic Music Festival in September of that year. Their first live, on-stage appearance was at the 2021 Pittsburgh Irish Festival, and since then they’ve managed to perform several times a year. 

There’s a considerable challenge in doing that, given individual time limitations, distance – Grennan lives in Chicago, Burns in Colorado – and family commitments for Klein and Burns and Thorin. But the band has been able to make a go of it, and even recorded an album in 2022, “Sailing On.” On “The Power of Three” – which they describe in the liner notes as “our most rockin’ set” – the band essays a trio of original minor-key reels by Grennan (“Mike’s Per Diem”) and Klein, “Hills of Galena” and “Fragility of Memory.” The three fiddles glide and slide together at a moderate but driving pace (Burns supplies harmonies and counterpoint and what Klein calls “disco beat chording”), with snappy rhythmic touches by Lindblade and Thorin as well as guest Steve Morrow on bodhran. 

“The Baton Set” pays homage to two distinguished fiddlers. Klein solos at the beginning on “The Hop Down Reel,” a traditional tune she learned from Kevin Burke, over Thorin’s bowed bass drone. Gradually, the other band members pick up on the rhythm and widen the spectrum, before Klein segues into Liz Carroll’s “Lizzy in the Low Ground,” over a deliciously jazzy backing from Lindblade. 

The Burns original, “Beatrice’s Waltz,” accentuates the more emotive end of The Bow Tides’ repertoire. “Jessie wrote it for her daughter,” explains Klein. “There’s something so contemplative and blissful about it, and we like how it contrasts with the more high-energy sets we do.”

On the more exotic side is “Branle Des Chevaux,” an old Breton tune in five parts the band renders with a regal dignity, and the festive “Trip to Gaelicia,” combining “Old John's Jig” from Ireland – led by Klein – with a pair of muñeiras from Galicia.  

“Right from the start, it was a lot of fun to play with Jessie and Katie,” says Klein. “Our styles and interests really mesh – we just get each other. Working together is satisfying on so many levels.

“And, of course, we had the connection through Gaelic Storm: We even had learned the same arrangements for most of their tunes and songs.”

As Klein describes it, being part of Gaelic Storm (from 2003-07) was an enjoyable, if demanding experience. When she first joined, the band had become widely popular, partly on the strength of its cameo appearance in the film “Titanic” six years before. Gaelic Storm typically followed a rigorous and extensive touring schedule, bringing a sound and vibe more geared to arenas and big venues than folk clubs or listening rooms.  

“Gaelic Storm was, and still is, a crowd-pleasing, high-energy band,” says Klein. “Katie, Jessie and I all feel that we learned a lot about showmanship: playing to the audience, being in the moment, maybe even making a ‘rock star’-type move here and there. And, of course, you would have to turn around and do it all over again the next day at the next show.”

In time, other priorities arose. Klein left the group several months before giving birth to her first child; Burns also departed in advance of parenthood; and Grennan exited in 2022 to join them in making the Bow Tides a working band. (The current Gaelic Storm fiddler is Massachusetts native Natalya Kay, who succeeded Grennan.)

The three Gaelic Storm alumni went on to somewhat smaller scale but quite successful musical endeavors, even before Bow Tides. Klein co-founded the Boston-based, all-female quartet Long Time Courting that lasted for about eight years and is now a member of the trio Fódhla; she also teaches fiddle and organizes a monthly session through the Powers Music School in Belmont. Grennan – who has a whole other portfolio as an Irish dance performer and teacher – is a member of dynamic Celtic quartet Reverie Road and has recorded three solo albums. Burns runs a music school and teaches at camps and workshops nationwide; she also produced an online international fiddle school with Grennan and Klein for two years. 

While The Bow Tides has a quite different aesthetic and presentation than Gaelic Storm, Klein says she and her bandmates bring a degree of flair and verve to their performances: “We don’t just stand there; we do some high-energy moves. But we center our sets and arrangements to focus on the fiddle tradition and sound in a way we hope our audiences find creative and listenable.”